I’m waiting in my cold cell when the bell begins to chime
Reflecting on my past life and it doesn’t have much time
Cause at 5 o’clock, they take me to the Gallows Pole
The sands of time for me are running low,

They hit and run, plead sanctuary, beneath the holy stone they hide
They’re breaking beams and crosses with a spastic’s reelin’ perfection
Nuns run bald through Vatican halls pregnant, pleading immaculate conception
And everybody’s wrecked on Main Street from drinking unholy blood
Sticker smiles sweet as gunner breathes deep, his ankles caked in mud
And I said, “Hey, gunner man, that’s quicksand, that’s quicksand that ain’t mud
Have you thrown your senses to the war or did you lose them in the flood?”

I was lying in a burned out basement
With the full moon in my eyes.
I was hoping for replacement
When the sun burst thru the sky.
There was a band playing in my head
And I felt like getting high.
I was thinking about what a
Friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie.
Thinking about what a
Friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie.

So where to now St. Peter
If it’s true I’m in your hands
I may not be a Christian
But I’ve done all one man can
I understand I’m on the road
Where all that was is gone
So where to now St. Peter
Show me which road I’m on
Which road I’m on

Hey Joe, hey, Joe, I heard you shot your woman down
Hey Joe, hey, Joe, I heard you shot your woman down, baby
He said, “Yeah, I did it, yes I did, I shot her
You know I caught her messin’ ’round with another man”

Yes I did, I shot her
You know I caught my her messin’ ’round with another man
Yeah, and I gave her the gun

Sheets of empty canvas, untouched sheets of clay
Were laid spread out before me as her body once did.
All five horizons revolved around her soul as the earth to the sun
Now the air I tasted and breathed has taken a turn